


The Emerald Hero

by GalaxianEXE



Category: DCU (Comics), Green Lantern (Comics), Green Lantern: The Animated Series, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Green Lantern Ring, Midoriya Izuku with a Green Lantern Ring, Power Rings, Quirkless Midoriya Izuku
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-08
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2018-12-25 12:02:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12035478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalaxianEXE/pseuds/GalaxianEXE
Summary: "You have the ability to overcome great fear for the sake of others." Those were the words on which he was chosen. After the War of Light, the last Power Ring finds its way to Earth and finds a Quirkless boy with dreams of becoming a hero. Villains will soon learn to beware Izuku's Light.





	1. The Torch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N – Why has this not been a thing until now? I mean one of Deku's defining traits is jumping into the jaws of danger to save others regardless of how scared he is. Plus it is right in his name Midoriya! But anyways, this is a bit of a proof of concept that I wanted to try out. I've seen a couple of "Deku gets a different Quirk instead of One For All" ideas and I wondered what it would be life if someone threw "the most powerful weapon" in the DC universe instead, and here we have…

 

_**The Emerald Hero** _

_**The Torch** _

With labored breathes, Abin Sur checked his Power Ring for what it felt like the millionth time. The seasoned Lantern had lost track of how long he had been waiting for a responds, but, even now, none came. "Am I really… The last one…?" He wondered out loud.

Looking out of his vessel, the man could see the wreckage left behind by the war. "The War of Light… Hah…! More like the War  _on_  Light." When the full might of seven Corps thundered down on each other all that was left was destruction and darkness.

Where once shone every color of the spectrum, now there was nothing.

He had been against the war from the start, but Abin Sur had kept quiet and simply obeyed orders and did his duty, even when the call the arms came, and now it was too late. "The Guardians… Kilowog, Tomar-Re… Everyone…" The weight of everything he had lost wash over seasoned warrior. Those thought hurt more than the grave wounds on his body. "The light of the Green Lanterns… Has died out…" He said as he leaned back on the cockpit chair.

It felt as if an eternity had pass, during which the violet man allowed himself to give up. His wounds were beyond treatment and he had nothing left, and no one left. It would be so easy to just let it all go. After some time, Abin Sur finally opened his eyes again, and the first thing they saw was his Green Lantern Ring, still glowing brightly and defiantly inspite of everything that had happened.

"No…" The experienced Lantern grumbled. "I cannot let our light die out here… Before I die… I need to make sure it will continue to shine…" He stated as he brought his Power Ring towards him and concentrated. "Find it… The one that will bear our torch." He commanded as his ship came to life and synced with the Power Ring. "Take me to that person." Abin Sur willed before he lost consciousness.

* * *

The waves crashing on the shores were almost loud enough to hide the sniff from the heartbroken boy sitting on the beach just out of the reach of the water. Midoriya Izuku rubbed a couple of tears out of his eyes before looking out at the sun setting behind the ocean in front of him.

The boy was in his  _secret hideout_ , a remote spot on the beach that had managed to stay mostly clean of trash. Izuku had found it a couple of years ago and it had quickly become his go-to place when he wanted to be alone. The boy would often spent hours in this place reviewing his notes and fantasizing about becoming a hero safe in the knowledge that the mountains of trash around it kept prying eyes from witnessing his more embarrassing moments. Today, those same barriers were used to hide the boy's tears from the world.

"He's right… This is for the best…" The green haired boy weakly muttered. This could have been the best day of his young life given the fact that he had a chance to meet All Might, his long time hero, in person. Izuku had even managed to build up enough courage to grave on to the legendary figure before he leapt away and ask the Pro if there was any chance for him to also become a hero.

All Might answer had been even more devastating than the revelation that, behind his confident and ever smiling persona, hid a broken body struggling to keep going by sheer willpower. The Symbol of Peace, with his voiced tired and straining, told the young boy that he could not become a hero without a Quirk.

Letting out a sigh of defeat, the middle school student gazed up at the darkening sky. "Of course a Quirkless guy like me could never…" He trailed off. Wiggling his toes, Izuku cursed the extra joint in his toe that indicated his lack of a Quirk.

After the fateful meeting with All Might, Izuku tried to go home but end up wandering the city aimlessly. Eventually, the boy realized that his feet were subconsciously taking him towards the villain attack he had seen from the rooftop. The realization almost sent the young man into tears, so he quickly turned around and ran away in the opposite direction and kept on running until he reached the beachfront.

By now, the day had almost completely turned into night and several stars started to make themselves known. "I have to go… Before Mom starts to worry…" Izuku muttered to himself as he decided he had finally cried enough.

However, just as the boy stood up, something overhead caught his attention. The brightest start currently in the sky was shining with a bright green light that seemed to grow stronger and stronger with each passing second.

Izuku felt almost hypnotized by the bright green light until a loud noise snapped him out of it. The entire beachfront suddenly started to shake as the boy realized that the sounds were also coming from above and that, whatever the green star actually was, it was coming towards him.

Acting on instinct, the green haired boy threw himself into the sand mere seconds before a powerful gust of wind swept through the beach, quickly followed by a powerful crash just a couple of dozen yards behind him among the trash.

Hesitantly, the middle school student stood up and looked towards the crash site from where a large column of smoke was already coming out. Curiosity got the best of the young man as he peered over the mountain of trash. "Did a hero crash landed here?" He wondered out loud.

Inside the crater created by the impact rested some sort of vehicle or container. The dents, burn marks, and sparks all around it made its battered state obvious to the green haired boy.

"Huh… I don't recognize it from any of the heroes I know…" Izuku commented as he looked over the damaged aircraft. Eventually, his green eyes fell on the ship's cockpit where something seemed to stir.

Immediately, any apprehension or fear disappeared from the boy as he rushed into the crater. "Hold on! I'm coming!" He shouted. The realization that someone was inside the vehicle and most likely hurt overrode everything else in the young man's mind.

Reaching the cockpit, Izuku tried to pry it open, but the ship was so hot that, the moment his hands touched the aircraft, he reflexively pulled them back.

Thinking quickly, the boy searched his backpack for anything he could use to open the vehicle. The first thing the middle school student found was his hero notebook.

Without thinking twice about, Izuku ripped the book in half and, which a piece in each hand, use it to grab on to the upper portion of the cockpit.

Putting all his strength into it, the green haired boy tried up pry the aircraft open. "Don't… Worry! I'll… Get you… Out…!" He shouted as he strained his body to the limit. Despite all the layers of paper, he could feel his hands being burned, but instead of letting that stop him, he channeled the pain into opening the cockpit and saving whoever was inside of it.

Suddenly, the upper portion of the cockpit gave up and flew open, causing the young man to fall back.

Quickly getting to his feet, Izuku immediately check on the ship's occupant.

Inside the fallen craft was a bald man with violet skin and wearing a tight fitting green costume stained with what looked like blue colored blood.  _"Is he a new hero? I definitely don't recognize him…"_  The middle schooler thought. "Are you alright?!" He asked.

After several tense seconds, the man began to stir. A pair of bright green eyes opened and struggled to focus on the young man. "Where… Where am I…?" He barely managed to ask.

"Uh… You crashed on the beach…" Izuku answered. "In Musutafu city." He quickly added when he realized that the man may have flown here from far away.

The injured man shook his head. "No… Which planet…?" He asked.

It took a few seconds for the words to register in the boy's head. "What?!" He exclaimed as he brain quickly did the math. The vehicle that dropped on the beach had not been a plane, but a spaceship. "You… You… You're an alien?!" He asked perplexed.

The violet man seemed to have tried to laugh, but instead ended up coughing up more blood. "My name is… Abin Sur from the planet Ungara…" He revealed. "Member of the Green Lantern Corps… Probably the last one…" The alien added. "What planet… Did I end up in…?"

Izuku took several seconds to process all the information he had just heard. In today's world, thing that may have seen fantastic a few decades ago were now common place. It was not all that rare to witness an epic battle between the forces of good and evil during your daily commute to school. However, interacting with alien life was in a whole other level. "Ear… Earth… You're on Earth…" The boy finally answered.

A low chuckle escaped the wounded alien. "The planet full of Metas? So… I made it back to my sector…" He commented offhandedly.

"What… What happened to you?" The middle schooler managed to ask.

Painfully sighing, Abin Sur leaned back on his chair. "The War of Light…" He responded. "All seven corps of the emotional spectrum met in one final battle." The violet man continued. "It was massacre for all sides… There were no winners or losers in that battle… We all just ended up killing each other."

The young boy remained silent as he tried his best to make sense of the alien's words.

"I fought… Until I could not find anyone else to fight against." Abin Sur revealed. "I tried to contact the Guardians… My bosses, but there was no answer from them… Or for anyone else…" His breath became noticeably more labored as he talked. "I knew the severity of my wounds… So I synced my Ring to the ship's navigation… And went set off to find…" The violet man's words trailed a bit as his green eyes lock on Izuku's. "I guess it was to find you… My Ring guided me to you." He said before raising his right hand to reveal a glowing green ring on one of his fingers.

Izuku focused on the ring for a couple of seconds before looking up at the violet man. "What… What do you mean…?" He asked in confusion.

Abin Sur coughed bit before answering. "When Lanterns fall… Their rings set out to find someone worthy to take their place…" He revealed. "I simply had this Ring make its decision a bit ahead of time… And it chose you."

The green haired boy shook his head. "I don't understand anything that you're saying…" He stated. "But I can guarantee you that I am not worthy of… Whatever it is that you're ring is looking at me for." The young man tried to explain.

The alien's eyes drifted to the boy's burned hands for a second before looking up again. "I do not believe that the Ring made a mistake." The man said before extending his hand towards the boy.

Without thinking much about it, Izuku followed suit and brought his own hand forward to meet the alien's. The boy was surprised by how weak the man grip was.

"May I ask what your name is…?" Abin Sur requested.

"Mi… Midoriya Izuku…" The young man answered with a gulp.

The alien nodded in understanding. "It is a heavy burden I leave you with…" He started to say. "After the war, I do not know what tomorrow may bring… The Guardians… The other Corps…. Everyone is gone… Yet, if I survived long enough to make to this planet… It must be because a Green Lantern is needed here." The violet man informed.

Izuku could see how each word came out at a great cost for Abin Sur. Part of him wanted to go and try to get help, but deep down he knew that there was no time for anyone else to come, and the feeling of powerlessness at not being able to save the man in front of him ate the boy up. "I still don't understand what you are talking about…" The middle schooler confessed.

A smile appeared on the violet man's face. "You will… Someday…" He assured. "You will be our Torchbearer now… And I know… Your light will be the brightest of them all…" His words were now coming between longer pauses. "May Ion… Guide your path… Midoriya Izuku of Earth…" Abin Sur said right before closing his eyes as life left his body.

Despite the oddity of the situation and having only met the alien man for a couple of minutes, Izuku was not surprised to find out tears running down his cheeks as the violet hand slipped out of his grasp.

However, as Abin Sur's hand fell, the green ring slipped off his finger on its own and remained hovering in mid air.

The freckled boy looked on in amazement as the small object started to glow with a blinding green light.

Suddenly, a powerful voiced started to echo inside the young man's head.  _ **"Izuku Midoriya of Earth. You have the ability to overcome great fear for the sake of others…"**_  The light from the ring became almost unbearable for the middle schooler.  _ **"You have been chosen!"**_  It boomed. There was a surge of light and everything became green.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N – So yeah, that's the idea. Deku, a kid that comes off as bit of a push over until the situation gets critical in which case all bets are off, is now in possession of possible the last Power Ring in the universe, a weapon which power is directly correlated with the user's will power, bravery, and confidence. It is going to be fun!
> 
> I purposely killed off all the different Crops as an excuse for why Deku does not leave Earth as a Lantern usually does when chosen. There are no Guardians or Corp for him to go to. This story will be about Deku dealing with all the stuff from the My Hero Academia series, but with a Green Lantern Ring instead, with a couple of twists thrown in there for good measure. I hope you guys like it and thanks for reading.


	2. First Construct

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N – Well, the first chapter seems have been received better than I had any right to expect. Seriously, I am extremely grateful for all the reviews I received. So much so that I originally planned to wait a whole week before I would even start writing this chapter, but after seeing the positive reception this fanfic got, I felt like I had no other choice but to continue writing as soon as possible. Again, thank you so much for your reviews. Here's to you guys…

_**First Construct** _

"Izuku! Where have you been?!" Midoriya Inko exclaimed from the kitchen the moment her son walked into the house. "I've been worried sick about you!"

Quickly, the green haired boy put his arms behind his back to hide the objects he was carrying from his mother. "Sor… Sorry, Mom! I stopped by the beach and kind of lost track of time…" He hurriedly excused himself as he tried to make his way towards his bedroom while keeping his back facing away from his mother.

"Goodness… You should not make your mother worry so much about you. I was starting to fear something might have happened to you." Inko complained as she went back to the food she was cooking. "Apparently there was a big commission in the city earlier today. It seems that a villain had taken a kid from your school hostage… I was very scared wondering if you had been involved or caught in all the chaos." She revealed.

The middle schooler laughed nervously. "Again… Sorry…" He said as he decided that it would be best to keep his encounter with the sludge villain a secret from him mother, as well as everything that happened after that.

Finally, the anxious woman calmed down. "Very well… Dinner is almost ready." She announced before given her complete focus to the food.

Izuku quickly took the opening and dashed towards his room. Once inside and with the door closed, the freckled boy looked at the items in his possession.

In the boy's right hand, in his middle finger, was now the glowing green ring that Abin Sur had wore, while the boy's left hand carried an equally glowing green lantern.

After the violet alien's death, his ring had hovered in mid air as a voiced announced that Izuku had been  _chosen_  and was soon followed by a blinding flash of green light. When the light dissipated and the young man regained his eye sight, he found the ring already in his finger, while Abin Sur and his spaceship where nowhere to be found and, in their place, stood the glowing lantern.

The boy quickly picked up the green artifact and dashed home in case someone else had heard the alien's crash landing and decided to investigate.

Placing the lantern on his desk, the young man finally took the time to examine both items carefully. He noted the symbol on the ring vaguely resembled the lamp's shape and, whenever they brought the two closer, their glow would intensify. "He said that I would understand what these are someday… But really, I can't even begin to comprehend any of this…" He commented out loud.

Taking a closer look to the lantern, the Quirkless boy found something fascinating about its glow that compelled him to move nearer while he absentmindedly brought the ring forward. Suddenly, several words appeared in front of the young man's green eyes. "In brightest day… In blackest night… No evil shall escape my sight." He started to recite the words. "Let those who worship evil's might… Beware my power… Green Lantern's light."

A powerful explosion of green light went off in the room.

"Izuku, what are you doing in there?! Are you taking pictures?!" Inko's voice called out from outside.

The young man found himself sitting on the floor in the middle of his room, having been taking aback by the surge of energy from the lamp.  _ **"100% Power."**_  A new voice announced.

At first, Izuku thought it has been the ring, since it had a similar echo-y feel as the one he heard back at the beach, but that voice had been deeper and booming, while this new one was noticeably softer and almost feminine. "Wa… Was it the lantern this time?" The middle schooler wondered.

" _ **No. You were correct on your first hypothesis."**_  The voiced responded.

The green haired boy jumped in surprise. "Who… Who are you?!" He questioned.

" _ **I am the former navigator AI in charge of Lantern Abin Sur's personal ship."**_  The voice revealed _ **"Before his pacing, he integrated my neural matrix into his ring. However, the process had remained incomplete do to the Power Ring's low energy reserves and I could not be fully incorporated until it was fully charged."**_  It explained.  _ **"You have my thanks, Lantern Midoriya."**_

Izuku continued to be as confused as he had been since the beginning of this entire event. "But… Why did he… Uh… Put you in the ring?" The young man decided to start from there.

" _ **I believe it was for your benefit."**_  The AI answered.  _ **"To my extensive knowledge, the habitants of this planets are unaware of the inner working of the Green Lantern Corps and, with the loss of the Corps governing and functioning body, you are left with no one to train you, Lantern Midoriya."**_  The voice explained in a matter-of-factly voice.  _ **"That is why Lantern Abin Sur grafted me into the Power Ring. It is so that I can serve as your guide and prepare you for your duties as a Lantern."**_

The freckled boy was left blinking dumbly at the words from his ring. "What duties…?" He asked. "Actually, first, why do you keep calling me  _Lantern_? What does that mean?" The middle schooler changed his question.

" _ **Green Lanterns are an intergalactic peacekeeping force tasked with maintaining order in the known universe."**_  The AI informed.  _ **"You were chosen as Abin Sur's successor by this Ring… Though given your current situation and the state of the Corps, I suggest you limit your jurisdiction to the local area…"**_  It added and, for a second, Izuku could have sworn it was musing.

A pair of green eyes widened to their limit. "That's… Pretty heavy…" He simply commented.

" _ **My database about this planet seems to be insufficient. Do you have access to your planet's collective reservoir of information, Lantern Midoriya?"**_  The former navigator program requested.

The young man scratched the back of his head. "Reservoir?" He repeated. "You mean like internet?" Middle schooler wondered before turning to look at the laptop sitting on his desk.

Immediately a green light shot out of the ring in the boy's hand and moved up and down the computer as if scanning it.  _ **"Link with router established… Connection to modem achieved."**_  The AI stated.  _ **"Commencing download of package in its entirety."**_  It declared.

Izuku was left dumbfound yet again. "I hope this doesn't consume all of our bandwidth…" He nervously joked before sitting down on his bed and leaning back. Suddenly the weight of everything that had occurred on that day made the young man feel extremely tired.

" _ **Download successful… Starting overview process…"**_  The AI announced. " _ **Discarding unimportant information… Discarding feline focused visual files… This might take some time."**_  It added.

"Heh…" A short laugh escaped the green haired boy. Several minutes of silence passed by before the young man spoke again. "Hey… These Green Lanterns… They are kind of heroes, right?" He inquired.

" _ **The Green Power Rings are often referred to as the most powerful weapons in the universe."**_  The AI revealed.  _ **"It grants its user a vast array of abilities that many societies often mistake as Meta traits. Many races in the universe consider Green Lanterns to be superheroes, yes."**_  The ring's voice answered.

Bringing his right hand up, Izuku stared at the ring for a full minute.

" _ **Are you thinking of using the Power Ring to attend U.A. High School, Lantern Midoriya."**_  The former navigation program asked.

Izuku scrambled to sit up. "How… How did you know?!" He questioned in surprise.

" _ **From the information I download from your computer and the internet."**_  The AI responded.  _ **"You wish to attend U.A.'s hero course but are hindered by your**_ **Quirkless** _ **condition."**_  The voice stated.

A defeated sigh escaped the freckled boy.

" _ **If you are considering using the Green Power Ring as a replacement for a Quirk, I estimate the probability of success will be approximately 94%."**_  The AI added.

Green eyes widened again. "Really?!" The young man wondered excitedly. "But… Wouldn't use the Ring for something like that be… I don't know… Disrespectful?" He questioned.

" _ **Negative.**_ " The ring's voice immediately responded.  _ **"As I stated before, you are in need of guidance. My task will be aided exponentially by the inclusion of the school's hero course. Having you enroll there would be a sound strategy."**_

At that moment, Izuku fell he could jump with joy for the rest of his life, but instead he simply sat down and smile as a couple of tears escaped his eyes. The idea of actually having a path he could take that would lead to U.A. was overwhelming.

" _ **But first, you need to learn the basics on how to use the Green Power Ring, Lantern Midoriya."**_  The AI cut in.  _ **"According to my database, you have less than one of this planet's years to get ready for U.A.'s entrance exam."**_

Izuku nodded. "Ok. I'm counting on you!" The Quirkless boy stated.

" _ **I will begin formulating a training schedule for you, Lantern Midoriya."**_  The ring's voice announced.

"Hey…" The green haired boy suddenly called out as he realized something. "Do you have a name…? What do I call you?" He questioned.

For the first time since the AI made its presence known, the voice took a couple of seconds to respond.  _ **"Lantern Abin Sur called me Aya…"**_  The former navigation program answered and Izuku was sure he could hear a touch of sadness in its voice.

* * *

During the next several months, any time Izuku was not in school or studying, he was most likely training. Aya had started the young man's preparations by explaining that, while the Green Power Ring did provided him with protection and augmented his physical capabilities, it would still cause a strain on the green haired boy's body and he needed to be in top physical condition in order to endure it. Rigorous physical training soon followed.

The other portion of his training as a Lantern revolved around the abilities granted by the ring. To the middle schooler surprise the list of skills and abilities granted by the ring was hysterically long. The small object offered everything from a seemingly unending database of knowledge and a literal universal translator to the aforementioned physical enhancements. The boy could still remember when he tried to watch and American video and effortlessly understood every word as if English had been his native language.

However, Aya had pointed out that the main thing that the Lantern Corps used the rings for in action was their ability to manipulate light. For support objectives such as scanning or message signaling to offensive capabilities like concussive blast of focused energy and, above all else, hard light constructs.

According to the AI, it was that abilities to create seemingly anything out of light that made the Green Lantern Corps as equally revered and feared throughout the universe. With the Green Power Ring in their possession, Lanterns could bring forth whatever their mind imagined out of light by sheer willpower and mental strength.

So, almost every day, after arduous strength and endurance training to keep his body in top shape, Izuku would train with the ring until exhaustion threatened to make him pass out.

The physical enhancements and concussive energy blasts were simple and straight forward enough for the middle schooler to quickly grasp. All he needed to do was concentrate on the ring in his middle finger in order to activate them.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said about the solid light constructs. Aya tried to explain the process, that he was suppose to have a clear image of what he wanted to create and then shape the light accordingly. However, no matter how much the boy tried he had a lot of problems visualizing something to will into existence, and because of that, the only constructs he had been able to make so far were simple and crude shapes.

" _ **Do not worry, according to my database some Lanterns required even years of training by more experience members before they could fully master their Power Rings."**_  The AI has revealed.  _ **"It may be slow, but you are making progress."**_  She assured the boy. At some point, Izuku had decided to think of the former navigation program as a female.

Eventually, the time remaining for U.A.'s entrance exam grew shorter. Months turned to weeks which then became days until now Izuku found himself in from of the school's testing center. If only his legs would remember how to move again.

" _ **It is unbecoming for a Lantern to feel this much fear about a simple examination."**_  Aya voiced her opinion.

Shaking his head, Izuku took a deep breath and prepared to move when the sound of a familiar cough stopped him cold on his track. "Fuck off, Deku…! Cough…" Bakugo Katsuki exclaimed as he walked straight down the road while glaring at the green haired boy. "Cough… Don't stand in my way if you don't want to die!" He exclaimed.

Izuku remained frozen in his place as his blond classmate continue his determined march forward, roughly pushing the freckled boy out of his way.

For his part, the Quirkless boy simply looked down after the sight of his classmate overwhelmed him with guilt.

The euphoric high of finding a way to take the U.A. exam he felt after getting the ring had come crashing down the very next day in school when the green haired boy had found out what had happened to Kacchan.

Apparently, the sludge villain that had attacked Izuku earlier in the day managed to get away and ambush Bakugou. The villain tried to take possession of the blonde's body and was using the boy's powerful Explosion Quirk to keep the heroes away.

It seem that a long time passed while the Pros waited for someone with a suitable Quirk to arrived, forcing Kacchan to endure the villain during all that time. According to the eyewitnesses, the middle schooler eventually managed to wrestle control of one of his arms from the villain and, without hesitating, used his Quirk to detonate a powerful explosion right on his chest.

Bakugo had succeeded in forcing the villain out, but he had inflicted grave injuries on himself in the process. The blond had to undergo multiple emergency surgeries and was later forced to remain in the hospital for weeks followed by several months of rehabilitation and, to this day, still carried a cough whenever he over exerted his voice.

Only by sheer force of will had Kacchan been able to make up his missing school work and recover enough to even take the U.A. entrance exam.

The root of the green haired boy's guilt lied on the fact the he knew that All Might would have never let a villain get away from him. If the sludge villain managed to break out, it must have been because of the Quirkless boy's meddling.

In his desire to get All Might to acknowledge his dream of becoming a hero, Izuku had almost gotten one of his classmate killed. On top of everything, the boy could not find a way to apologize for his action out of fear that he might let slip something about All Might's condition.

After several minutes, the middle schooler remained frozen in place. "You're going to be late." A new voice suddenly said. "It'll be a shame for you to come all this way and miss the exam… Kero."

Izuku finally looked up just in time to see a slim girl with dark green hair tied in a large bow, large hands, wide eyes, and an unreadable expression walk pass him.

Shaking most of his stupor off, the freckled boy called out to his fellow test taker. "Tha… Thanks!" He said before restarting his walk as he prepared for the first part of the exam.

* * *

By the time the practical test started, Izuku had finally managed to recover from his meeting with Kacchan, but only due to the chaos that the actual entrance exam entailed.  _"How many does that make?"_ The boy asked in his mind as he lowered the Power Ring after bringing down one of the 2 point Villain Bot with an energy blast.

" _ **So far you have accumulated a total of 9 points."**_  Aya responded since she had a mental link with the young man as long as he wore the ring.

Izuku ran through the fake city when a 2-pointer emerged from an alleyway and tried to ambush him. Taking aim, the boy let out another energy blast which crippled the robot by blowing its scorpion like tail clear off, but failed to actually down it.

Before the freckled boy could let out another attack, a colorful laser shot pass him, finishing to robot off. "Your Quirk seems similar to mine." A blond boy with bright blue eyes and long eyelashes said. "But my Navel Laser is much more beautiful." He added as he ran pass the slightly dumbfound green haired boy.

" _ **Still only 9 points."**_  Aya commented.

"I know, I know…" Izuku said out loud as he reassumed his hunt for more Villain Bots.

As he continued searching, the green haired boy was able to take a pair of 3-pointers, along with a couple of 2 and 1-pointers, when a sudden commotion among the other test takers caught his attention. Before the young man could have a chance to question what was happening, he got his answer as the giant 0-pointer robot burst through a building.

Immediately, all the students in the area started to disperse trying to get away from the  _arena trap_. Izuku had managed to take a couple of steps when his ear caught something. "Aaah!" Somebody shouted.

Looking back, the Quirkless boy saw a girl with mid-length brown hair caught beneath some rubble right in front of the giant Villain Bot's path.

None of the other test takers seemed to have realized that the girl was in trouble, or if they did, they simply chose to ignore her.

For his part, Izuku turned around and planted his feet on the ground.  _ **"Lantern Midoriya?"**_  Aya questioned.

Instead of answering, the freckled haired boy raised his Green Power Ring and released a powerful concussive blast towards the robot. The 0-pointer staggered, but continued on its path.

The green haired boy shot a second blast and a third. Both attacks hit their marks, but the giant robot remained in motion.  _ **"You are going to need a construct to stop it."**_  Aya stated.

"But I can't make one…! Not one that can go against that thing…!" The young man grunted.

" _ **Yes you can, Lantern Midoriya, otherwise the Ring would not have chosen you.**_ " The AI argued.  _ **"Think of the most powerful thing you have witness… Recall that memory and give it shape"**_ She suggested.

Izuku gritted his teeth. The sight of the trapped girl reminding him that he there was no room for failure in the situation. He might have caused harm to Kacchan, but he was going to save this girl.

Concentrating, the boy tried to think of something strong enough to beat the 0-pointer. Finally, his mind remembered his own incident with the sludge villain, when he thought he was going to die until his savior arrived.

Suddenly, the Green Power Ring started to glow as the green color in the young man's eyes intensified. Inside his head, Izuku recalled the greatest show of strength he had witnessed: The sight of All Might punching out the sludge villain with a single hit.

Filled with the emotions he felt on that day, the Quirkless boy lowered his stance. "Texas…" The young man said through gritted teeth as he put his left foot forward, and pulled his right arm back. "SMASH!" Izuku roared as he punched forward.

Immediately a colossal beam of green light shot out of the Power Ring. As it traveled towards the Villain Bot, its front changed into the shape of a large fist that crashed into the 0-pointer midsection with so much force that the giant robot was briefly lifted off the ground before it fell reeling back, completely out of commission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N – I thought about having Izuku's ring with an AI, one more advanced than the Power Rings usually show in the comics, from the very beginning fanfic idea started to take shape. It was a way to have something to give all the GL lore exposition now that the entire Corp is gone. I actually only remembered Aya from the Animated Series a few hours after posting the first chapter and I quickly realized that she would be perfect for the job. I find it funny how so many things about this fanfic seem to be falling into place almost by themselves.
> 
> Some of you may have noticed that, among the powers Deku is using, one in particular seems to be missing: Flight. I'm actually holding this one off for the time being, but rest assured, Deku will eventually fly. Once more, thank you for reading.


	3. Secret Identities

_**Secret Identities** _

Izuku was panting so hard, he almost could not hear the sound of the building crumbling as the zero pointers fell backwards and the ground of the makeshift city trembled. Struggling to regain his composure, the boy finally became aware that all the other test takers around him were completely frozen in place as they looked on with shock and amazement at him.

"Uh… Uhm…" The green haired teen found himself at a loss for words as he felt completely exposed in front of everyone and his old stage fright started to kick in.

" _ **Congratulations, Lantern Midoriya."**_  Aya's voice snapped him out of his stupor.  _ **"That was your first successful construct."**_  She informed.

Izuku took a moment to let the AI's words sink in. The giant green fist he created had taken a lot out of him mentally and physically. The boy felt as if he had run through an entire sports festival while taking the end of term exam at the same time. However, the feeling of pride and accomplishment bubbling up inside of him was strong enough to keep him from falling over.

Unfortunately, the boy's self congratulations were cut short by Present Mic's voice booming through the fake city. "The test is over!" The blond hero announced.

"What?!" Izuku exclaimed in surprise. The arrival of the giant zero pointer had made him forget completely about the time limit and his point tally.

" _ **Since the giant automaton was worth zero points, you total continues to be only 24."**_  Aya informed much to the exhausted boy's dismay.

* * *

Izuku's hands were shaking out of control and his heart was beating so loudly that he was sure his mother could hear it outside his room. After the practical exam, the young man had felt so tired that he had struggled to get through the written test.

Aya had explained that the use of such a powerful construct by a novice like the boy had exhausted him mentally. She had then offered to help the young Lantern by using the expansive reservoir of knowledge she had downloaded into the Ring, but Izuku's pride and morals would not let him cheat in the exam.

Now, a week later, the young man stood in his room with a letter from U.A. in his trembling hands and he could not bring himself to open it.  _"I don't think I did as well in the written portion as I would have hoped… And what if I didn't get enough point in the practical exam?!"_  The teen's mind raged.

" _ **As a Green Lantern, you should not feel this scared of a simple letter."**_  Aya reminded the green haired boy, snapping him out of his trance.

Taking a deep breath, Izuku grabbed one of the envelope's corners. "Ok… Here… Here we go…" He said before ripping open the letter.

Immediately, a small round device fell from the paper container and onto the middle schooler's desk. Before the Quirkless teen could reach for the gadget, the small disk suddenly activated and projected a large screen in front of Izuku.

"This is a projection!" The image of All Might loudly announced in the screen created by the device.

The green haired boy was so surprised he almost fell backwards. "All Might?!" He shouted. "But… Isn't this from U.A.?!" He asked out loud as he looked at his idol wearing bright yellow suit.

All Might laughter boomed in the recording as if he had heard the boy's exclamations. "Greetings, Young Midoriya, it has been a while since we met." The Number One Hero in the country commented. "This will come as a shock for you, but I will be working as a teacher for U.A. during this upcoming term, and I was very surprised when I saw you taking the entrance exam so insisted that I be the one to get in contact with you." He added.

For his part, Izuku was still having problems processing everything he was seeing.

"I am sure you must have a lot of questions." The All Might recording said as if he had sensed the boy's confusion beforehand. "First things first… You passed!" The blond declared.

The words finally snapped the green haired teen off his stupor. "I… I passed… Really?"

Predicting the boy's reactions once more, All Might nodded in the recording. "Yes! Not only did you pass the exam, but thanks to the points you acquired when you saved your fellow test taker, you actually achieved the third highest accumulated score!" He revealed.

Green eyes widen at the information.

The All Might in the video smile brightly. "Welcome, Young Midoriya, to U.A.'s Hero Course." The Pro Hero said.

Izuku could feel tears forming in his eyes.  _"I did it… I did it… I got into U.A…"_  The boy thought.

So lost in his thoughts, the middle schooler almost missed the fact that All Might had started to talk again. "…And as a newly appointed teacher in U.A., I am looking forward to seeing your growth as a hero, Young Midoriya, and I hope we can continue the conversation we had on that rooftop." The Number One Hero said right before the recording ended and the device automatically turned off.

Immediately, a sense of cold dread spread through the young man. "The rooftop… All Might remembers what I told him on the rooftop…" The Quirkless boy muttered.

" _ **What is the matter, Latern Midoriya?"**_  Aya asked. _ **"Your emotional levels are going haywire."**_  She commented.

The green haired boy looked at his Ring. "All Might knows!" He exclaimed. "I told him that I didn't have a Quirk! So he is going to wonder how I suddenly have the ability to shoot green lasers!"

In the middle schooler's mind he was already going through scenario after scenario of everything that could happen next. All Might could reveal what the boy had told him and get him kick out of U.A. for cheating in the exam. Worse yet, he could be forced to reveal the origins of the Green Lantern Ring and, with his luck, he would probably be taken into government custody for study.  _"Perhaps it would be better if I never show up at U.A…"_ He considered.

" _ **Calm down, Latern Midoriya."**_  Aya's voice cut through the chaos inside the teen's head.  _ **"If the hero All Might wanted expose you, he would have done so already."**_  She pointed out.  _ **"Instead, he said he wishes to talk to you… I think is better to refrain from drastic actions until then."**_  The AI offered.

Izuku sat on his bed and tried to calm himself down. His heart seemed to be beating a million times per second due to a combination of excitement at being admitted into U.A. and dread of his secret being found out. Lying back on his bed, the young man decided to follow Aya's advice and wait until he could talk to All Might.

"Heh… I'm going to meet All Might again…" Izuku said as the awesomeness of the situation finally sunk in and, despite everything else, brought a smile to the freckled boy's face. Looking at the hologram projector from U.A. for a few seconds, the teen suddenly jumped to his feet and rushed out of the room to tell his mother the good news.

* * *

Eventually, the day finally arrived and Izuku found himself at the door of U.A.'s classroom 1-A. The time between the acceptance video and now had done nothing to quell the new high schooler's unrest. The thrill of being accepted to the Number One Hero School in the country and the apprehension of the truth about his  _Quirk_  being found out had made the boy a bit of a nervous wreck.

"I'm glad you managed to pass the entrance exam." A voice abruptly chimed in.

Turning around, the freckled boy saw the same green haired girl day that had snapped him out of his daze during the day of the exam. She was now wearing the U.A. schoolgirl uniform, but her unreadable expression was identical to how it had been on that day.

"But you really need to work on your assertiveness… It will be a shame if you are late to your first day of class… Ribbit." The girl said as she walked pass the conflicted boy before opening the door and stepping into the classroom.

The view that greeted the Quirkless boy was of several other students already happily mingling with each other. Scanning the room, his eyes eventual landed on a tall, blue haired boy with glasses, who he vaguely remembered seeing during the practical exam, currently talking to a familiar blond.

As if on cue, Bakugo's eyes shifted towards Izuku and immediately switched from annoyance to overwhelming anger.

His old classmate's glare was so intense that the green haired teen had to fight off the urge to step back. The freckled teen remembered Kacchan's angry reaction when the two were called to the faculty room of their old middle school to be congratulated on their admission to U.A.'s Hero Course. The blond had not taken Izuku's admittance well and the green haired boy was sure that, if it did not tarnish his permanent record, Bakugo would have attacked him right there on the spot.

Mustering all the courage he could, Izuku finally stepped fully into the classroom.

"Ah! It's you!" A feminine voice suddenly called out.

Turning towards the voice, the green haired boy immediately recognized the brown haired girl that had been trap in the zero pointer's path during the test.

"I tried to talk to you back in the practical exam, but with all the chaos I never got the chance." The young woman said as she walked up to the freckled boy and gave him a small bow. "My name is Uraraka Ochaco. Thank you for saving me!" She exclaimed before raising her head and given the young man a bright smile.

For his part, Izuku was stunned.  _"I've been a high school student for only five minutes… And I've already talked to two girls!"_  He excitedly shouted in his mind.

" _ **Actually, you have not said a single word to either of them, Lantern Midoriya."**_  Aya promptly corrected him.

The boy would miss his opportunity to finally speak with a girl as a new, much rougher voice cut in. "If you're going to fraternize… Please do so elsewhere…"

Looking back towards where the voice was coming from, Izuku was surprised to see long haired man with a half shaven beard inside a sleeping bag lying just outside the classroom.

"This is supposed to be…" The man started to say but stopped a moment to bring out a juice bag and drink it. "The Hero Course." He added before sitting up and shedding off the sleeping bag, revealing his black clothes and the mess of bandages loosely wrapped around his neck.

By now, all the students in the room had gone silent and their eyes were glued to the disheveled looking man.

The stranger walked to into the classroom dragging his bag behind him. "You finally settled down? Good…" He said. "Now I can introduce myself… The name is Aizawa Shota… And I'll be your homeroom teacher." The man announced.

Immediately, a flood of whispers and murmurs spread throughout the students.  _"U.A.'s Hero Course is supposed to be taught by Pro Heroes… But I've never seen or heard of this guy."_  Izuku pondered.  _"Aya, is there a way you can check for his name in your database?"_  He asked the AI.

After a few seconds, the young man got an answer.  _ **"According to my information, Aizawa Shota is the name of the Erasing Hero, Eraserhead."**_  Aya informed.

A new wave of dread washed over the young man  _"Eraserhead?! That can't be!"_  He shouted inside his mind.

" _ **What is wrong, Lantern Midoriya?"**_  The AI inquired.

" _Check your database… Eraserhead is an underground hero who doesn't like the spotlight… And his Quirk gives him the ability to cancel out other Quirks!"_  The green haired boy responded.  _"If there is one person that can discover that my abilities are not from a Quirk, it's him!"_  The Quirkless teen added.

All Might had been one thing. As Aya had pointed out, the Number One Hero had chosen not to divulge his Quirkless condition, for now, but a serious and rough individual like Eraserhead would be a completely different deal.

" _Ok… Ok… I just need to calm down… And make sure I use the Ring as little as possible in front of him"_  The freckled boy reasoned.

Unbeknownst to the fretful boy, Aizawa reached into his sleeping back and brought up a different, navy colored school uniform. "Now, everyone wear one of these." The teacher said. "And get to the P.E. grounds… I'm going to assess all of your Quirks." He added, much to Izuku's horror and dismay.

* * *

Izuku tried to calm himself down as he waited for his turn for the ball throwing trial. The boy's plans of lying low were completely dashed when Aizawa announced that, during the Quirk Apprehension Test, any student he felt was not up to a snuff would be cut from the Hero program and expelled from U.A. all together.

After all that he had gone through, the Quirkless boy could not let his place in this school be taken away from him on the first day of class.

Doing his best to put his fears aside, the young man prepared himself and waited until the moment his name was called up.

"Midoriya, step up…" Aizawa finally said.

Immediately, Izuku heard murmurs coming from behind him as he walked forward.

"Did you see him during the exam?"

"I heard he had the third highest score!"

"He took down the zero pointer by himself."

"WHAT?!"

The green haired boy winced at the last outburst, recognizing that it came from Kacchan.

Reaching the teacher, the young man received the electronic sphere and stepped inside the throwing area.  _"I'll have to worry about Mr. Aizawa's Quirk later… First I have to do this."_  The boy thought before taking a deep breath.

Looking down at the ball, Izuku will the Ring's energy forth and molded it around the sphere, encasing in a green shell.

" _This is it…"_  The Quirkless boy thought as he pulled the hand holding the ball back.  _"Here it goes!"_  The young man threw the ball with as much strength as he could.

Izuku knew that, even with the physical enhancement he received by wearing the Green Lantern Ring, the throw would not be anything special. However, the moment the sphere left his hand, the freckled teen activated the green construct he had cast around it and will it to take the ball much farther than he could physically throw it.

"Nice throw!"

"All I saw was a green flash."

"Other than Uraraka's infinity throw, that was the best one yet!"

Aizawa looked that at the receiver in his hand. "Yep, 720 meters." The Pro Hero confirmed the students claim.

Green eyes widened at the reveal.  _"I did it…!"_  He shouted in his mind.

" _ **Good job, Lantern Midoriya."**_  Aya complemented the teen.  _ **"That construct might have been very simple, but you still conjured flawlessly. That is a show of progress."**_  The AI added.

The freckled boy smiled as he prepared to join his fellow classmates, but was stopped in his track. "Deku…!" A menacing growl was heard before Bakugo used his Quirk to launch himself into the air.

Every student stood stunned as the blond shot upwards.

"What's the hell is the meaning of this?!" Kacchan roared. "All those years you were just making a fool of me!" He shouted as he redirected his arms and used his explosion to propel himself forward. "You bastard!" The young man shouted as he flew towards the green haired teen.

All of the sudden, the explosion that were pushing Katsuki forward suddenly stop and the spiky haired boy landed only halfway to Izuku. "What the hell…?" The boy growled. Turning to look at the side, Kacchan had his answer and his red eyes immediately widened.

"I will really appreciate it if you refrain from doing such stupid actions as attacking your fellow classmate…" Eraserhead commented as he glared at the blond. The Pro Hero's unblinking eyes were glowing red as his Quirk negated Bakugo's. The bandages around his neck seemingly came to life as they unraveled, revealing the man's signature goggles.

"What…?"

"Those goggles… They seem familiar…"

"He's the Erasing Hero, Eraserhead!" One of the other students exclaimed.

Once the initial shock wore off, Kacchan matched his teacher's glare. "You… Cough…! Cough…!" Whatever the blond had wanted to say was cut off by a fit of coughs caused by the earlier outburst.

For his part, Izuku could only look away as all the elation from his throw completely disappeared.

" _ **If it makes you feel any better, I might have a solution to the problem of Aizawa Shota's Quirk."**_  Aya suddenly announced.

" _What…?"_  The boy immediately asked in his mind.

" _ **Now that I saw the activation of his Meta ability, I can set up an alarm system within the Green Lantern Ring that will warn you when he directs it towards you."**_  The AI explained.

Green eyes widened.  _"That would be great, Aya!"_  He exclaimed.

" _ **However, I must warn you that, because the Ring is driven by willpower, the alarm will only work as long as you are aware of Aizawa Shota's presence near you**_ **."**  She explained.  _ **"Otherwise, the alarm will not be active."**_

The freckled teen gritted his teeth.  _"It will have to do… Please set up the alarm, Aya."_  The young man requested.

" _ **Will do. Lantern Midoriya."**_

Things eventually calmed down after that and the class was able to carry out the rest of the trials without much problem.

Thanks to the Green Lantern Ring, Izuku was able to do quite well in most strength base trials, and by the time Aizawa presented the Quirk Apprehension Test results, the boy was pleasantly surprised that he managed to do well above average.

"And so, to my utter surprise, each one of yours shows at least some potential…" Aizawa stated, sounding almost dejectedly. "I don't have any grounds to expel anyone… So I'm guess we are all stuck with each other for the year." The teacher added.

Despite the borderline insulting words, the class cheered nonetheless.

Aizawa sighed. "That's it for today… You'll find your curriculum sheets back in the classroom. I suggest you give it a look." For the first time, a smile appeared on the black haired man's face. "Because tomorrow's ordeal will be a lot tougher." He added before turning around and leaving a group of fear-struck students in his wake.

It took a couple of seconds for Class 1-A to recover.

However, just as Izuku started to make his way back towards the school building, he was stopped by Aizawa's voice calling out to him. "Midoriya, I forgot to tell you… They want you to stop by the Faculty Office before heading home!" The Pro Hero announced.

The Quirkless boy immediately felt as if a bucket of freezing water was poured over him.

* * *

"It's All Might… It has to be All Might." Izuku muttered under his breath as he made his way towards the Faculty Office. "Or maybe is the principal because All Might already told him that I am Quirkless…" He considered as he could feel his heartbeats getting louder with each step he took.

Finally reaching the office, the young man hesitated to knock on the door.

" _ **Lantern Midoriya, such hesitant behavior is not…"**_  The AI started to say.

"I know, I know, is not fitting for a Lantern…" The green haired boy whispered back. Mustering all his courage, Izuku's finally knocked.

Instantly, the door opened. "You're here!" All Might shouted as he stood on the threshold in his imposing muscled form and once again wearing the yellow suit from the recording. "Young Midoriya, good to see you! Please come in!" The Number One hero said with his ever present smile as he stood aside for the young student to come in.

The green haired boy did his best to shake off the awe at seeing his idol in person once again and for a few sweet moments he forget the likely reason why he had been called here.

Shyly, the high schooler walked into the office and followed All Might to an adjacent room in which he was offered a seat on a sofa.

For his part, All Might sat on the other side of the coffee table across the freckled teen. The moment the Pro Hero took a seat his body immediately deflated to the gaunt, skeletal form that Izuku had seen on the rooftop months ago.

"All… All Might…!" The young man exclaimed as his idol's true form still surprised him. "What… What if someone sees you…?" He quickly added as looked around the room half expecting someone to pop out of hiding.

The blond man waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. All the teachers here know about my true form." He revealed. "Anyways, you're probably wondering why I called you here."

Izuku was aware that his entire body was shaking, but he could do nothing to stop it.

"I'm going to go straight to the point." The Pro Hero continued talking with a serious tone as his blue eyes bore into the young man. "You left quite an impression that day on the rooftop… So, as I said in the video, I was very surprised when I saw you taking the school's entrance exam because, if I remember correctly, you told me you were Quirkless." He said.

The boy's eyes faltered for a second.

"I could tell you were telling me the true back then… So, do you mind if I ask you, how were you able to do all those things during the practical test?" All Might asked directly.

Looking down at his hand, the pair of green eyes focused on the Ring.  _"What do I do…?"_  The Quirkless boy pondered.  _"What do I tell him…? All Might is my hero… I can't lie to him… But… Will he even believe my story…?"_  His mind raged.

" _ **I do not know…"**_  Aya simply responded.

After an extended charged moment of silence between the two, Izuku finally made up his mind. "It's true… I am Quirkless." The boy reaffirmed as he slowly slid the Green Lantern Ring off his hand. "All that stuff I managed to do… Those powers… Came from this." The teen said as he placed the Ring on table.

All Might looked at the small ornament with confusion. "This?" He asked.

The young man nodded. "Yes… It's a special Ring… It chose me." The high schooler said before closing his eyes and concentrating on the small green band.

On cue, the Green Lantern Ring started to glow before it slowly rose into the air, hovered towards the freckled boy, and slid back into his finger.

The Number One hero had a look of great surprise in his face.

"It's hard to explain… The Ring… Came from very far away." Izuku started talking again, but he was still unsure of how much he should say. "Its previous owner… He trusted me with his duty to protect others before he…" The boy's words choked up.

Despite all the months that had passed, the Quirkless boy still had not been able to completely shake off the feeling of powerlessness at not being able to help Abin Sur.

"This Ring is meant to be used for good." The green haired teen reassumed as he looked straight at his idol. "And I am its Torchbearer now."

All Might looked visible taken aback.

"I know it can be dangerous… The Ring is very powerful." Izuku confessed. "But that is why I want to learn how to control it… That's why I need to come to this school… So that I can become somebody worthy of wearing it and I can prove that that the Ring was right in choosing me!" He stated before bowing his head down. "So please don't turn me in! Don't expel me!" The boy begged.

A full minute of silence followed before it was broken by the sound of a soft chuckle that soon turned into all out laughter coming from All Might. "You continue to surprise me, Young Midoriya!" The Number One he declared. "I've seen and heard incredulous and amazing things in my line of work, but I never saw this coming."

Now it was the green haired boy's turn to look confused. "You're not going to expel me?" He inquired.

The blond shook his hair. "No, no. I was just worry that you had gotten a Quirk via…" He seemed to catch himself on something. "I… I mean, I was just curious about where those odd abilities of yours came from." The blond answered.

Izuku looked up in wonderment. "So… You'll keep my secret?"

A smirk appeared in All Might's sunken face. "You haven't told anyone mine, so it's only fair that offer you the same courtesy." The Pro Hero said as he extended a hand. "Let's keep each other's secret identities safe, deal?"

The high schooler felt as if a huge weight was suddenly lifted off his shoulder. "Yes!" He answered as he eagerly reached for his idol's hand.

Suddenly, All Might returned to his heroic muscle form. "I expect great things from you, Young Midoriya." The Number One hero said as he shook the young student's hand. "I can't wait to witness how bright your light will be." He added with his ever present smile.

Izuku nodded. "I won't let you down." The boy responded to both All Might and Abin Sur.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that the pacing for this fanfic has been pretty rushed, but please bear with me for a little more. I'm still laying the foundations for this set up and I don't feel like dwelling to much on material that remains unchanged from the original BNHA story, but I promise a more focused passing will come soon.


	4. My Will

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah… Halfway through this chapter I realized that it was going to end up far longer that I planned and wanted. This is because I am trying to keep the chapters in this story within a certain length because bloated chapter have hurt, and at times killed, my other fics. Instead, I decided to end this chapter around the midpoint of what I originally intended. So, fair warning, this chapter contains mostly set up and the pay off will be coming in on the next one.

_**My Will** _

Despite all the worry that the boy had felt the day before, Izuku could not help but be extremely excited at the moment; a sentiment that the green haired teen knew he shared with the rest of his class as they prepared for their very first Hero Course class with none other than All Might as their teacher.

"Did you know that All Might was a teacher here?" A blond boy named Kaminari asked.

"I heard rumors, but I didn't really think they could possibly be true." A redhead answered. If Izuku remembered right, his name was Kirishima.

Excited gossip like that filled the locker room as the boys from class 1-A prepared to don their hero costumes for the first time.

Discretely, the freckled boy glanced at the spiky haired blond on the other end of the room. Even Kacchan could not contain his enthusiasm as shown by a clear smirk on his face while he placed a large pair of grenade-like gauntlets on his arms.

While the other boys in the class were taking out their costumes from the special briefcases provided by the school, Izuku looked down at his backpack. Reaching into it, the young man pulled out the green jumpsuit that his mother had given him.

It had taken a lot of effort for the boy to explain to his mom how he had all of the sudden developed such a unique  _Quirk_ like, him and Aya had decided to call it  _Light Manipulation_ , and that then he had used it to get admitted into U.A.

To this day, Izuku was not completely sure that his mother had bought his made up explanation. However, the joy that seeing her son being able to follow his dream had brought her seemed to have overridden any doubts she had over the boy's newfound abilities.

A few days before the school term started, Izuku's mother had surprised her son with a present, a green jumpsuit she had bought for him to use as his superhero costume. The Quirkless boy had been so moved by his mother's gift that he had decided to forget about the custom-made gear that the school was offering, and instead take the jumpsuit as his hero attire.

Surprisingly enough, Izuku had received some pushback for this decision from none other than Aya herself. According to the AI, as a Lantern, Izuku should wear the designed Corp uniform created by the Green Power Ring. Aya went on to list all the attributes granted by the Green Lantern uniform, from self repairs to heat resistance, the boy had actually zoned in an out as Aya continue on her rant about why the GL uniform was a better choice for superhero costume.

However, this was a subject in which Izuku refused to budge. Even if the gear created by the Ring offered more protection, the green jumpsuit his mother had given him, after all they have been through due to his Quirkless status, was far more meaningful and, as far as the boy was concerned, it was more important than even the Power Ring itself.

Eventually, the two reached a compromise about what to do with the boy's hero costume.

Izuku took his time to slowly put his green jumpsuit on until he was the only one left in the locker room. Taking the Green Lantern Ring off momentarily, the high schooler put on his gloves before putting the Ring back on his finger. Casually, the young man noted how the Ring adjusted in size to fit his now gloved hand.

Taking a deep breath, the freckled boy concentrated on the Power Ring and channeled its energy outwards. Slowly, the boy could feel how the green light from the Ring spread through his jumpsuit, tightening its fabrics and reinforcing them, making the attire sturdier and offering more protection.

Next, the green energy moved upwards, concentrating around the boy's eyes before they formed a green domino mask around them. It was a silly aspect and it served no function whatsoever other than aesthetics since hero were public servants, but the mask was something Izuku really wanted to add.

Finally, the Ring's energy traveled back down to the teen's chest, where it formed a replica of the Green Lantern insignia from the Ring, which embedded itself over the jumpsuit.

" _ **There… At least you will have**_ **some** _ **protection this way."**_  Aya commented, making it clear that she was still not over the fact that Izuku had rejected the Corp's uniform.

For his part, Izuku glanced at his costumed formed in the mirror and took a moment to let the image sink in. "I'm here… I'm doing it… I'm really doing it…" He whispered to the empty room before turning around and exiting it to catch up with the others.

* * *

By the time Izuku caught up with others, his classmates were almost at the entrance to Ground B.

"Cool costume!" Uraraka called out from among the crowd, making the freckled boy blush. So far, the brunette had been the friendliest out of all the boy's new classmates, most likely due to the fact that he had helped her during the entrance exam. "I like the symbol in the chest, it matches your ring, and green is definitely your color, Deku." The girl added with a smile.

For his part, Izuku was slightly taken aback. "De… Deku?" He repeated.

The brunette gave her classmate a confused look. "Isn't that your nickname?" She asked. "Bakugo always calls you that and you call him  _Kacchan_. The two of you are childhood friends, right?" The girl said.

The green haired boy scratched the back of his head and awkwardly looked away. "Yeah… He… He gave me that name." The young man admitted. "Because it's supposed to mean  _useless_ …" The young man revealed.

Now it was Uraraka's turn to look surprised.

"You see, Kacchan and I have been classmates since kindergarten, and at every turn he has always been several steps ahead of me." Izuku explained. "I'm always so far behind that, in his eyes, I am not capable to stand in the same stage as him… To him I'm just a useless waste of space." The boy said the things he had always known in his mind, but never dared to say out loud.

The short haired girl narrowed her eyes. "But your Quirk is so strong… Surely it counts for something."

Izuku hesitated for a second on how to respond. "I… I got my Quirk very late…" He said, keeping his explanation as vague as possible. "By then, Kacchan's mind was already set… And to it, I will always be just  _Deku_ …"

The pair of students remained silent for several seconds before Uraraka finally spoke up. "I may not know you as long as Bakugo has… But I can tell you for certain that you are not useless." The young woman said with conviction. "The distance between the two of you is not as large as you think. Bakugo was first in the entrance exam, but you came in third! Plus, you actually surpassed him in the ball throwing test yesterday!" She reminded him.

The boy felt a sense of elation at her words.

Uraraka continued to speak. "And it's not just for your Quirk, but also because you were the one guy who stood against a giant, seemingly unstoppable, opponent despite having nothing to gain from it, and all just to help a girl you didn't know but was in trouble." The young lady declared.

Once more, Izuku was left stunned.

"And, while we are at it, I do think the name  _Deku_  fits you." The girl continued. "Because to me,  _Deku_  stands for  _you can do it_!" She stated with a bright smile.

The green haired boy continued to have trouble finding his voice as he let this classmate's words sink in.  _"Deku does not have to mean_ useless _…"_  He thought. Looking at the brunette, the Quirkless boy returned the smile and nodded. "You're right." Deku finally responded.

"Alright! Let's see what you're made of, you rookies!" All Might's booming voice called up as the students finally stepped into the training zone.

Looking around, Izuku took note of the area. Ground B looked like any random street one would find in the city, with building, fake stores, and even street signs.

All Might stood in the middle of the street in his muscled form with his ever-present smile while wearing one of his older superhero costumes that still used a cape.

"Now, today's exercise will be an Indoor Battle Trial!" The Number One Hero announced. "You'll be split into Heroes and Villains and face each other in Two-on-Two battles!" He revealed.

"Wow, they're throwing us immediately into the deep end." Izuku heard Kirishima whisper.

"We're going straight into combat training. Awesome." A black haired boy called Seto answered.

The green haired boy watched with a mixture of amusement and horror how his idol fumbled his way through the explanation of the exercise. The greatest hero of all time even had to check his notes every so often to make sure he covered everything and often got flustered by questions from the class.

"Ehem… To summarize, the Heroes will be tasked with either capturing the Villains or retrieving the bomb… While, on the other hand, the Villains have to either keep the Heroes away from the bomb until the time runs out or find a way to incapacitate them." The Pro Hero said before finally putting away the piece of paper where he had jogged down all of his notes. "And now, we'll decide the teams at random via lottery!" The blond announced as he brought out a lottery box.

There was a sense of anticipation throughout the class as All Might reached into the box, causing most of the students to hold their breaths.

"And the first team is…" The Number One Hero said as he pulled out two pieces of paper.

* * *

Izuku fidgeted on his feet as he did something that was extremely rare for him, cursing under his breath.  _"How can I have this much bad luck in my second day of class…?!"_  The young man wondered inside his head.  _"Is it some sort of karma that, because I got the Ring and managed to get into AU, the world keeps finding new and exciting ways to mess with me?!"_  He questioned.

" _ **I do not believe such an effect actually exists, Lantern Midoriya."**_  Aya chimed in; not realizing it was a rhetorical question.

The green haired boy shook his head as he thought over what had just happened. Not only had he been placed on the Villain team for his first Hero Course exercise in UA, but then the name that All Might had pulled out of the box alongside his had been none other than Kacchan's.

Now, the two  _childhood friends_  stood in opposite ends of the room with only the fake bomb between them.

" _ **Lantern Midoriya, your emotional levels are notable unbalanced, are you perhaps scared to team up with Bakugo Katsuki?"**_  The AI inquired.

The young man quickly shook his head.  _"No… It's not that… I'm just…"_  He said in his mind.

Carefully, the freckled boy took a glance at the blond, finding him glaring intensively at the ground, clearly more displaced with their current situation than green haired boy was.

Suddenly, Bakugo's red eyes shifted upwards and caught Izuku's green ones looking at him. "What do you want, you bastard?!" The spiky haired teen shouted.

Despite himself, Izuku flinched. "Uhm… Should we… I don't know… Maybe think of a strategy…?" He offered in an attempt to at least try to cooperate for the exercise. "We're going against Tokoyami and Shoji… And we need to figure out how we are going to face them…"

Instead of responding, the blond narrowed his eyes and took several steps towards his classmate.

To his credit, the Quirkless boy managed to keep himself from stepping away.

"How long…?" Bakugo growled.

The green haired boy cocked his head in confusion at the sudden question.

"For how long… Have been making a fool of me?!" The spiky haired boy shouted as he came to a stop just a few feet away from his classmate. His red eyes burning with sudden anger.

"What… What are you talking about, Kacchan?" Izuku questioned back perplexed.

The answer only seemed to infuriate the spiky hared student even more. "That damn Quirk of yours!" He exclaimed. "You hid it all this time! Making everyone believe that you were Quirkless!"

Izuku's eyes shifted to the ground. "It's… It's not like that." The boy answered. "I know it's rare… But I only got it recently… I…" The freckled teen tried to explain.

"Don't give me that shit!" Kacchan roared. "You were just pretending to be Quirkless all this time!" He shouted. "What?! Were you trying to create some sort of sob story about a poor Quirkless boy suddenly gaining a Quirk and becoming a hero?! While playing all of us for fool?!"

The green haired boy shook his head vigorously. "You are wrong…!" He shouted back. "This Quirk… This power… I…" The young man continued his attempts at explaining but could not find the right words to do so.

By now, Bakugo was almost shaking with rage. "That's the reason why…" The young man growled menacingly. "That's they you have always looked me with eyes full of pity all of these years… Isn't that right, you bastard…?! Cough…! Cough…!" Having overexerted his voice out of anger, the spiky haired teen was sent into a sudden but powerful fit of coughs.

Immediately, guilt overwhelmed the green haired teen. "Kacchan… Are you alright?!" Izuku asked in concern as he took a step towards his classmate.

Bakugo simply forcibly shoved the freckled boy away from him. "I bet you love seeming me weak like this… Cough…!" The spiky haired teen spat out with a voice full of venom. "But make no mistake… Cough…! Even with my current condition, I am still a million times better than you! Cough…! Cough…! You damn nerd!"

Green eyes looked pleadingly at the pained student. "No… It's not like that…" Izuku muttered weakly as he tried not to let his guilt over Kacchan's situation suffocate him. "I… Just want to help you." He informed.

The blonde suddenly let out a primal roar. "I don't…! Cough…! Need your help…! Cough…!" He declared. "I never have...! And never will…! Cough! Cough…!" His red eyes were piercing daggers at his old classmate. "It doesn't matter if you have a Quirk or not…! Cough…! You will always be the same useless Deku! And I will win this whole thing by myself…! Cough! Cough!" The young man shouted walking away and out of the room.

All that Izuku could do was watch his classmate walk away and disappear into the hallway outside while he was left feeling as useless as his nickname indicated. "I just really want to… Make amends." The boy said to the empty room.

This whole time, the guilt over causing Bakugo's incident with the Sludge villain had continue to eat the boy from the inside. Every time he had seen Kacchan's empty desk back in middle school, every time he heard their old classmate mention him, and every single time he caught a glance of the spiky hair blond it felt as if it was Izuku's own heart that was being blasted, and now, right before their training exercise, everything came pouring out.

"Because of my meddling… That villain was able to get away… And ended up attacking you… And forcing you to…" Tears started to run down the freckled cheeks. "I'm sorry, Kacchan, I am so sorry…" The Quirkless boy said to the empty room with no one else to hear him. "All I want… Is a chance to… To…"

" _ **Lantern Midoriya…"**_  Aya tried to offer some words, but seemingly was unable to find anything that would help the boy as she remained silent.

Deku stood there all alone except for the fake bomb that he was supposed to protect and the fading echo of Bakugo's footsteps as the blond walked away, feeling weaker than he ever felt in his life since being told he was Quirkless.

Unbeknownst to the young man, the subtle, but ever present, glimmer of light around the Green Lantern Ring slowly started to dim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reason why this half of the original chapter ended up getting expanded was because of the scene in the middle between Izuku and Uraraka. There is something I want to get out of it that will become clear in the next chapter. Anyways, thank you for reading up until now and once again sorry for the structure issues with this chapter. If everything goes right, the next one should complete it.


	5. My Resolve (My Will part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N – I am so sorry for the long delay between chapters. Some personal stuff with the family came up and then it was immediately followed by the holiday season. I found myself quite busy this last few months and we almost no time to seat down and get started on this chapter. Anyways, as I said before, the last chapter had been cut in two, so here is its second part. I hope you guys like it and, once again, sorry for taking so long…

_**My Resolve (My Will part 2)** _

Bakugo could feel his blood boiling with every step he took as every pang of pain sent from his chest caused him to grip his fist and clench his teeth tighter. "I'll show him… I'll show them…" The blond muttered as he walked through the empty hallways of the training building.

The young man did not even try to get a hold of himself. By this point, any attempts to calm himself down would have been pointless. Instead, Bakugo focused on the task at hand. Soon the training exercise would start and he could let out his pent up frustration on the bird and the octopus. Flexing his hands as small explosions went off on them, the blond made his way towards the floor's stairs.

Like a caged lion, Bakugo paced back and forth at the top of the stairs while he anxiously waited for All Might to give the start signal. "Just you wait…" He muttered. "Even while I am injured… Even while you have that damn Quirk… I am still in a completely different league than you." The young man swore under his breath.

Suddenly, All Might's booming voice was heard all throughout the training building. "In-door Battle Training Exercise between teams C and F… Start!" The Number One Hero announced through the intercom.

Immediately, Bakugo brought out the earpiece he had been given to communicate with his teammate, but instead of putting it own, the young man crushed the device with his hand threw the broken pieces away as he smiled and charged down the stairs, leaping over the entire first flight as he descended the building.

Despite wanting nothing more than to find his opponents so that he could finally let out some steam, the blond slowed his pace once he reached the third floor. From now on, his opponents were liable to be hiding anywhere.

Quickly, the spiky haired teen started searching the third floor, but found it empty, much to his disappointment. "Damn, you cowards… Come and face me…" He muttered as he went back towards the stairs, jumping over them to reach the lower floor as soon as possible.

"…Heard him…"

"…This way…"

The smile returned to Bakugo's face as he caught the faint sound of his classmates' voices in mid conversation on the current floor. Instantly, the blond charged in the direction he believed that the voices were coming from as he stared to produce sweat in his palms in preparation for the upcoming encounter.

"…He's coming…"

The spiky haired boy heard one of his opponents, confirming that he was on the right track.

"…Quick, over here…"

The second voice was louder, causing Bakugo to smirk as it showed that he was getting closer.

Arriving at a corner, the spiky haired student was able to catch a glimpse of something disappearing behind another corner at the far end of the hall. Instinctively, Bakugo picked up the pace as he chase after what he saw.

"…Catching up…!"

"…Not ready yet…!"

From their voiced, it seemed that the boy's opponents were starting to panic.  _"Trust me… Nothing that the two of you do will prepare you for the beating I am about to give you…"_  Bakugo thought as his smirk grew.

"…Let's fall back…!" The spiky haired boy heard either the octopus or the bird say.

By now, the young man was almost giddy with excitement. "Oh, no you don't...! I won't give you the chance to run away!" He exclaimed before changing course and aiming to cut the pair off by the stairs.

Unfortunately for the blond, he seemingly arrived too late to stop his opponents from cowering away.

"The more you make me wait, the worse it will be for you two!" Bakugo called out as he once again leapt from the top of the stair directly to the floor below, landing just in time to catch another glimpse of his prey before reassuming his pursuit through the ground floor of the building.

Corner after corner, the spiky haired teen chased after his two classmates, who by now seemed to be in a complete panic as all they could do was continue to run away from him.

With a wide smirk on his face, Bakugo started to prepare an attack.  _"I almost got them… I can taste it…"_  The U.A. student thought as he prepared to turn a corner.  _"They must be…_ "

The boy's train of thought was brought to a hall after the last turn put him face to face with the building's exit and just in time to see one of the octopus' tentacles and the bird's shadow retreating upwards just outside the building, the latter taking its time to taunt the blond by pull its tongue out before disappearing from the teen's view.

"What…?" Bakugo tried to figure out what had happened when a sudden crashing noise snapped him out of his stupor.

Realization started to wash over the spiky haired boy as he quickly dashed towards the stairs only to find it completely blocked by debris. In his anger and zeal, the young man had failed to recognize that he was being strung along.

All that the blond had heard and seen this whole time had been his classmate's tentacles and shadow guiding him down here while they made their way up.

"They… They tricked me…" Bakugo muttered as his fist started to shake. "Those damn bastards baited me out here… To trap me… And to cut me off from the bomb and…" Red eyes glared upwards. "Deku…" He said through gritted teeth.

* * *

Izuku paced back and forth in front of the fake bomb. The training exercise had been under way for several minutes and the green haired boy had no idea of what he should be doing. "This is a team exercise… Kacchan is good, but he is facing two other students at the same time without any sort of preparation or plan… Plus with his condition acting out he could be in trouble…" The young man muttered to himself.

He had tried calling his teammate through the communicators they had been given, but, unsurprisingly, there had been no answer. The Quirkless boy was willing to bet that Bakugou had thrown his earpiece away as soon as the exercise started.

"On the other hand, we can't leave the bomb completely unguarded… And…" Green turned towards the floor. "I don't think he would want my help…"

The Ringbearer stay quiet for a few moments as his mind replayed his argument with Bakugou. The fresh memory of the blonde's angry accusations and pained coughs tormented the freckled boy relentlessly, forcing him to physically shake his head in order to clear his thoughts.

"I can't let my issues with Kacchan distract me…" Izuku told himself. "I need to be ready in case anything happens." He declared.

As if on cue, the sound of footsteps reached green haired teen's ears. Immediately, the young man turned towards the door expecting to find his blond teammate and hoping he had come to his senses and decided to work together.

Unfortunately, the student's hopes were quickly dashed at the sight of Tokoyami and Shoji standing in the threshold.

"Wha… What are you…? Where's Kacchan…?" A shocked Izuku blurted out as he took a step back.

"Sorry if we are not the person you were expecting." Shoji said through one of his tentacles.

The Ringbearer was still trying to process the situation. "But… But how…? I didn't hear any fighting…?" The Quirkless boy questioned. In his mind, the idea that Bakugou had been defeated without putting up a fight was incomprehensible.

"Everyone in the class is well aware that there are some issues between Bakugou and you." It was Tokoyami who answered this time. "We predicted that he would charge ahead, so we came up with a plan to lock him out in the lower floors." The bird-like student commented as he and his teammate stepped into the room.

"So now, all that stands between us and the bomb is you." Shoji added before spreading his tentacle-like limbs.

For his part, Izuku tried to steel himself and prepare for the inevitable fight that was about to start. Bringing his right hand up, the freckled student trained the Green Lantern Ring on his classmates.

In respond, Tokoyami sidestepped behind his teammate. "His Quirk might be troublesome for me." The green haired boy heard the bird-like teen comment.

The taller boy nodded. "Then stay behind for now." He said as he readied himself to attack.

Planting his feet firmly on the floor, Izuku did the same. Deciding to take the initiative, the Quirkless boy willed his Ring to shoot a concussive blast at his opponents.

However, to the freckled boy's horror, nothing came of the Ring.

" _What…? What is happening?!"_  Izuku panicked in his mind.  _"It's not working!"_  He thought as he tried to shoot the blast again and again but to no avail.

" _ **It is due to your current emotional instability**_ **."** Aya chimed in.  _ **"Probably caused by your confrontation with Bakugou Katsuki. It has made you second guess yourself which has severely weakened your connection to the Green Lantern Ring."**_  The AI explained.

Green eyes widened at the information.  _"Then… What do I do?!"_  Izuku asked.

" _ **You must settle your emotions, Lantern Midoriya, and find your resolve once again… Otherwise the Power Ring will not answer to you."**_  Aya stated.  _ **"Good luck."**_  She added.

The freckled teen nervously glanced between the Ring and his classmates as he tried to force the accessory around his finger to work without any success.

"It seems he's having trouble with his Quirk." Shoji's words sent a wave of dread through the green haired boy as his opponents became aware of his predicament.

"In that case…" Tokoyami muttered right before a dark, bird-like figure shot out of his body and flew straight towards the fake bomb.

Izuku helplessly watched as the shadow sped across the room towards its target. Acting out of desperation, the Quirkless boy jumped to intercept the black figure.

The shadow started to flail around trying to shake the green haired boy off.  **"Hey! Get off me!"**  The black figure suddenly shouted.

The Ringbearer tried to hold on as if his life depended on it, but eventually his grip gave out and he was flung to the side.

"Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami shouted to get the creatures attention. "Get the bomb and finish this!" The student commanded.

The freckled boy recovered just in time to look up and see the shadowbeast obey its host as it dove for the bomb.

Suddenly, just as Dark Shadow was about to retrieve the bomb, the whole building started to shake and, before any of the students could wonder what was happening, a portion of the floor exploded.

"What that hell?!" Tokoyami exclaimed as he and Shoji stepped back in shock while Dark Shadow retreated.

"You damn bastards!" A roar was heard in the room right before Bakugou jumped out of the hole by propelling himself up with his Quirk. "You have some nerve thinking that you could trick me so easily and take me out of the fight!" The blond spat as he place himself between his opponents and their target. Red eyes spared the downed green haired boy a half a second glace before going back to glare at the pair by the door. "I'll kill you before I let you beat me." He declared as his hands started to glow.

Before any of the other students could react, Bakugo charged forward with a wicked smirk on his face.

Shoji stepped in front of Tokoyami and braced himself in preparation to endure the blonde's attack.

However, at the last second, the spiky haired boy used one of his explosions to propel himself upwards and jump over the tentacle user. "You first!" Bakugo shouted as he thrust an exploding palm towards Tokoyami.

The bird-like student brought Dark Shadow out in an attempt to protect himself, but the blast was strong enough to send him flying backwards regardless.

"You bastard…" Shoji cursed as he twisted his body around while extending one of his tentacles in an attempt to swat Bakugo away as he landed behind him. Unfortunately for the tall boy, the blond instinctively crouched down the moment he touched the floor, dodging the attack.

"You'll have to do better than that!" The spiky haired teen taunted as he used another explosion to push himself backwards and deliver a powerful shoulder tackle on the white haired student.

As the two fell forwards, Bakugo used his own momentum to backflip over the taller boy, once again landing between his, now downed, opponents and the fake bomb. The smirk never once left his face.

Izuku for his part was awestruck. It had been a long time since he had seen Kacchan fighting and he had forgotten how easy and seamless the blond made the whole thing seem. Even while fighting multiple opponents by himself, the spiky haired teen's spatial awareness and reflex were something to behold.

"Damn… He really is something else…" Tokoyami commented as he struggled back to his feet. Next to him, Dark Shadow still seemed dizzy from the explosion.

"If only could have prevented a direct confrontation with him…" Shoji regretted as he also stood up. "But it's too late for that… The only option we have left if to power on through… The bomb is right there within our reach." The white hared boy stated as he readied himself to attack.

Bakugo's smirk widened. "Within your reach, huh?" He repeated. "Deku might be useless, but as long as I am here you might as well be in a completely different planet than the bomb." The blond declared as his hands started to glow again. "Now! Come and die, you bast… Cough! Cough! Cough!" The boy's taunt was cut off as a new fit of cough wreck his body.

Green eyes widened in horror as they watched Shoji take advantage of the opening presented to him and charge forward, delivering a powerful uppercut on the blond teen that lifted his body high above the ground.

Immediately, a recovered Dark Shadow shot forward, intersecting the airborne Bakugo and swatting him back down to the floor with thunderous force.

"Aaargh…! Cough! Cough!" The spiky haired teen cried out in pain as his body bounced off the floor.

Not giving him time to recover, Dark Shadow picked the blond up and yanked him forward, only for Shoji to deliver a devastating clothesline that flipped the helpless boy in mid air before he fell limply to the floor.

Tokoyami and Shoji waited a couple of second to see if Bakugo would pick himself up. "It seems we got him." The shadow caster commented.

"We got lucky…" The taller student responded. "It seems that the two of them had preexisting problems with…" The tentacle user was cut off when Bakugo let out a massive explosion from his downed position, taking the two by surprise.

"What the hell?!" Tokoyami shouted.

"You bastards…" The blond cursed from the floor. "I refuse… To lose… To you or anyone…" He struggled to say.

Shoji shook his head and, in a surprisingly quick move for someone his size, swiftly grabbed the downed teen's arms and twisted them so that his palms were facing towards himself. "You certainly are tenacious…" The octopus-like student commented.

"Damn you!" Bakugo screamed as he struggled against his classmate's hold. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you both even if I have to blow myself up!" He roared in sheer defiance as his hand started to glow.

By now, Izuku was beyond panic. The young man was overwhelmed with everything that was happening in front of him. The green haired boy knew he was the cause of his teammate's predicament and he could do nothing to help him.

"I'm sorry, Bakugo." Shoji apologized as he seemed to realize what his opponent was trying to do. "But I will have to knock you out before you do something stupid." The tall boy stated as he formed another arm out one of his tentacles.

Izuku could hear his heart beat wildly as he watched Bakugo try to set off an explosion and Shoji raise his fist in the air. The look of complete desperation in Kacchan face was the worst thing that the young man had seen.

Suddenly, the memory of Abin Sur's hand falling from his grasp returned to the green haired boy's mind.

Acting almost on instinct, Izuku brought the Green Power Ring forward just as Shoji brought his fist down.

Much to everyone's surprise, a green beam of light shot out of the ring and encased Bakugo in a green, translucent dome that protected him from the punch. The dome immediately started to expand, forcing both Tokoyami and Shoji to back away from the downed boy.

"I am sorry Kacchan…" Izuku said, putting more meaning behind those words than any of his classmates realized. "I know you don't want my aid… But I can't help it." Green eyes full of resolve looked into red ones full of surprise. "If I ever see you in trouble or in pain, I will help you whether you want me to or not… Because, despite everything, you are still someone important to me, goddamnit!" The young man exclaimed.

"Deku…" Bakugo growled from inside the dome.

" _ **Congratulations, Lantern Midoriya."**_  Aya's voice suddenly chimed in.  _ **"Not only did you reestablish your connection with the Green Lantern Ring, but you were also able to create your first force field."**_  The AI commented.

For their part, Tokoyami and Shoji turned towards the green haired boy. "Well, it seems he finally fired up his Quirk." The bird-like teen commented.

"It's back to the original plan then." The tentacle user said as he stepped in front of his teammate and charged forward.

Izuku stood his ground. Aiming the Green Power Ring at his classmate, the young man shot a blast of green energy.

Shoji brought his tentacles up and took on the blast head on, managing to remain on his feet despite being pushed a couple of steps back.

Immediately, Dark Shadow emerged from behind the white haired student and sped through the air towards the bomb.

"Damn…!" The Quirkless teen exclaimed as he quickly shot another blast towards the shadowbeast. While the shot miss, it did accomplished the job of cutting black figure off from its target.

" _ **Lantern Midoriya, look out!"**_  Aya's voice suddenly warned.

The green haired boy barely had any time to react as Shoji's fist came crashing down towards him. The young man quickly jump back to dodge the attack and unleashed another blast from his ring at the taller student.

The victory of pushing the tentacle-user back was cut short as Dark Shadow appeared once again, this time coming in from the opposite side and forcing the freckled boy to shoot yet another beam of light to keep it at bay. On cue, Shoji charged again, making Izuku jump back even further.

" _So this is their strategy…"_  The green haired teen thought.  _"Shoji is the shield that blocks his partner from view and Tokoyami is the spear that reaches for the target… All the while I'm losing ground."_  He summarized.  _"I have to think of something quick…"_  The young man reasoned as he was well aware of how close they were getting to the bomb.

As Dark Shadow took flight once more, a plan started to form inside the Quirkless boy's head.  _"It's going to be risky… But it's my best shot."_  Having noted shadowbeast's reaction to his blasts of light, as well as Kacchan's explosion, Izuku allowed the black figure to get as close to its goal as possible, before aiming his ring at the bomb.

Immediately, a beam of light shot out of the ring and encased the fake bomb in another large, and very bright, force field. Dark Shadow had no chance to stop itself and rammed the green dome with full force.

" **Aaaargh!"**  Dark Shadow screamed almost as if the light was electrocuting him and immediately retreated back to its host.

Izuku smiled to himself. After being so close to victory, the trap had taken Tokoyami and Shoji by surprise and had left them stunned in place with their guard completely down.

Making his move before his opponents could recover, the green haired boy quickly moved to the side until he had a clear view of Tokoyami. Bringing the ring up, the freckled teen shot a beam of light at his classmate.  _"Another force field would take too much energy… I need to think of something else."_  He pondered.

Looking at the bird-like teen, a picture suddenly became clear in the Ringbearer's mind.

In midflight, the beam of light split up until a dozen thinner string that encased the shadow caster before he could react. "What that…?! A cage?!" Tokoyami exclaimed as the light solidify around him and trapped him inside a giant, green birdcage.

"Gotcha!" Izuku shouted in celebration. However, the boy's triumph was short live as a he was suddenly tackled by a recovered Shoji.

Looking up from the floor, the green haired teen could see the tentacle user standing over him. "I guess it's me and you, Midoriya." The taller student commented as he opened up his tentacles to their full width.

Izuku had not time to get back up before Shoji was already charging at him.

"Die!" The sudden roar was heard in the room, quickly followed by a large explosion right behind the white haired teen's back, bringing him down before he could reach Izuku.

Bakugo now stood over the downed Shoji with a glowing hand aimed right at him. "How the tables have turned…" The blond commented. "I wouldn't move if I were you, you bastard." He threatened as little explosions went off on his palm.

Shoji seemed to glance between the glowing hand ready to explode and his trapped teammate still inside the birdcage before letting out a defeated sigh. "I give up." The white hared boy admitted.

Izuku's eyes widened as All Might's booming voice was suddenly heard throughout the building. "The Villain Team wins!"

* * *

After saying goodbye to Uraraka, Izuku dashed through the school hallways towards entrance.

Despite having won the mock battle, All Might had chastised both him and Bakugo. The Number One Hero had pointed out that the only reason that the Villain Team had won was because they each had powered on through on their accord, while having almost nonexistent teamwork. On the other hand, the Hero Team who had prepared and carried out a strategy that took advantage of each of their Quirk while taking into account their weakness.

Throughout the whole lecture and for the rest of the class, Bakugo had remained silent, refusing to even look at the green haired boy and quickly heading home as soon as the final bell sounded off.

Reaching the entrance, Izuku could see his blond classmate about to leave school grounds. "Kacchan!" He called out as he ran towards the spiky haired teen.

Slowly, Bakugo turned to finally face the Quirkless teen. "What do you want, Deku…?" He growled.

The Ringbearer took a second to catch his breath before starting. "What I said back during the exercise… I hope you understand." The young man stated. "I don't know what I ever did to make you hate me… But I am done cowering before you." He declared. "You are one of the most amazing persons I have met… And I am not going to stop until I surpass you and force you to acknowledge me as well. That's my resolve!"

The explosion user remained silent for a few seconds before his eyes narrowed. "You are more than welcome to try." He said as he turned around and started walking away. "But you will always be just Deku to me." He added.

"I'm fine with that!" Izuku shot back. "Because you were wrong all those years ago, the  _Deku_  in my name doesn't stand for  _useless_." He informed. "It means  _you can do it_!" Deku announced, causing his friend to stop on his track and glance back for just a second before continuing to walk away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N – I would like to take this moment and say thanks to everyone who has read this fic, especially to those who had taken the time to leave a review. This is probably the second most popular fanfic that I have ever written. It might not seem important to some, but it means a lot to me. Thank you guys so much.


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